Update: Avastin cancer drug, Department of Health Statement

On Wednesday I wrote an article about the Avastin cancer drug, a treatment that could extend the life of people with bowel cancer.

It wasn't clear to me if patients who needed the drug would be able to access funding through the new Government Cancer Drugs Fund so I e mailed the Department of Health to see what they said. This is what they told me: Thank you for your email of 25 August about the availability of Avastin. I have been asked to reply. As you are aware, Avastin has not been recommended for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). The Department expects NICE to issue its final guidance later this year. NICE is an independent body which makes decisions on the clinical and cost effectiveness of treatments based on a thorough assessment of the best available evidence. Where NICE guidance on a treatment does not exist, it is for local primary care trusts (PCTs) to make funding decisions based on an assessment of the available evidence, and patients have a right under the NHS Constitution to expect local decisions on the funding of new drugs and treatments to be made rationally, following a proper consideration of the evidence. If the local PCT decides not to fund a new drug, then it should explain that decision. To underpin this right PCTs are required to have in place clear and transparent arrangements for local decision-making on funding of new drugs and for considering exceptional funding requests. The Government’s priority is to give everyone, including cancer patients, better access to drugs and innovative treatments on the NHS. The Government believes that there are fundamental failings within the current system for drug pricing and access. It has committed to reform the way the NHS pays for medicines through the introduction of value-based medicines pricing at the end of 2013, on expiry of the current Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme. This will provide NHS patients with better access to effective and innovative treatments at a price that secures value for the NHS. The Government has set out its plans to establish a Cancer Drugs Fund from April 2011 as a means of improving patient access to cancer drugs prior to the anticipated reform of arrangements for branded drugs pricing. Our focus on cancer recognises the particular issues around access in the UK to some newer cancer drugs. This was highlighted in Professor Sir Mike Richards’ report on the Extent and Causes of International Variations in Drug Usage, which was published in July 2010, and which showed that the UK tends to lag behind other countries in its use of newer cancer drug treatments. The Government wants patients, clinicians and the wider NHS to input into the design of the Cancer Drugs Fund and we expect to publish proposals for consultation later this year. Decisions on the implementation of the Cancer Drugs Fund will be taken following this consultation, and funding decisions will be finalised following the Spending Review, which is due to report in the autumn. However, the Government also wants to act now to help cancer patients who are having difficulty accessing the cancer drugs recommended by their clinicians. The Department has worked hard to prioritise budgets in 2010/11 so that it can bring forward funding to improve access to cancer treatments, ahead of the introduction of the Cancer Drugs Fund in April 2011. The Department has announced that from October 2010, an additional £50million will be made available to pay for cancer drugs. Decisions on the use of this additional funding will be a matter for local clinically-led panels based on the advice of cancer specialists. Patients will access the cancer funding through their treating specialists,